Aunt says dead man's family is also thinking of accused women's families

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The aunt of Jason Skinner, 34, who was killed in Grand Falls-Windsor on April 14, said her nephew had been slated to go into a rehab facility to be treated for drug addiction issues.

Mary Ellen Giles said after a two-year wait, Skinner had been accepted to go into a rehab facility on April 21.

Wanda Ash, 34, and Pamela Pike, 31, have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Skinner's death.

'Ordinary kid'

Giles said she remembered Skinner as an "ordinary kid" who later got into drugs and had addiction issues for most of his adult life.

She described Skinner as a "kind soul", who had never been known to be violent. She said that he didn't want to burden his family with his addiction issues and often sought help from homeless shelters across the country for day to day support.

Giles said Skinner's family had understood the house he had moved into at 18th Ave. in Grand Falls-Windsor was some sort of temporary spot for Skinner to stay until he started rehab.

"Whatever the label is, whether it was a homeless place, it was a place that actually tried to help him," said Giles. "It had good intentions."

"The fact of what happened to Jason there, let's hope that society doesn't lessen the value of what that place was doing."

Family coming together for support

Giles said the Skinner family is large and scattered across the country, but they have come together to give Skinner's parents support in the wake of their son's death.

Giles noted that the families of Ash and Pike, the two women who have been charged in connection with Skinner's death, are also coping with the tragedy.

"We're hoping that the support we have, the family of those two women, also have that same support," said Giles.

Giles said her brother, Skinner's father, wanted to make it clear that he is also thinking of the families of the two women as the proceedings against them make their way through the court system.

'More than our family has been destroyed by this.'—Mary Ellen Giles, Jason Skinner's aunt